Skulls & Miscreants
by Rayne Forever
Summary: A gang of troubled teens are causing issues for Gibbs and the team. But when the leader of these teens kills a navy officer, the others think everything's gone too far. But he's long gone. So now they must help them find him before he kills again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Me: I don't own NCIS. If I did, Jenny would likey still be there. -

Gibbs sat down at his desk with a large cup of his coffee.

"Did you find anything new?" he asked his team.

"Well, they've ransacked a few more Navy houses, and they've left this," Tony flipped on the large TV to show a picture of a Navy officer's car covered in degarding, disgusting phrases and pictures, "on the car of a Rear Admiral lower half's car."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked, sipping his coffee.

"They've made actual threats to the wife of the same Rear Admiral," stated McGee, getting up from his desk, and taking a report over to Gibbs. "The leader, the oldest one, said he'd do some very horrifing things. It's all in the report."

"And his girlfriend, has supposdely stolen from this same Rear Admiral's house," Ziva said, finishing the report.

Within the last week, a group of troubled teenagers had started reeking havoc upon the Washington Navy Yard and many of the people who worked there, and their familes who may have lived on or off base. The kids would go anywhere and everywhere to cause trouble or to scare someone. They called themselves Skulls and Miscreants, and left their mark (a skull held up by six hands) everywhere they went.

They knew only of two of the members. But there were easily anywhere from seven to twenty-three members of the gang. The first, was the leader, a boy they only knew as Skull. They were told he had long black hair to his shoulders and dark green eyes. He dressed like most punks from the area, black clothes, Converse, eyeliner-rimmed eyes. He was the one that called the shots, made the major plans, and always bossed the others around. He was reported to be abusive towards the one who was next in command.

This girl they knew as Shadow, for she was there one second, and gone the next. Her hair was dyed silver, and they knew, however, that her original hair color was red by looking at her eye brows. She was veryt hin, and slightly short, but they knew she was the one with the brains to make everything work. She tended to hide her body since she was the one who was abused.

They knew nothing about their parents, if they even had them, or whether or not htey ran away or were orphans.

"Do we know what she stole?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, a portrait of the Rear Admiral's wife," Ziva said after flipping through her papers for a minute.

"So, Shadow is the theif?" Gibbs said.

"Yes," Ziva confirmed.

"Alright, well, let's go out and visit them," Gibbs said. "Get your gear, McGee."

They got into the truck and drove over. Once there, Gibbs knocked on the door, and they waited for an answer. A woman opened the door and looked at the carefully.

"Special Agent Gibbs from NCIS," Gibbs said, showing her his I.D. "Can we please come in?"

"Yes," she said, opening the door further. "I'm Nancy Hall. My husband is Rear Admiral Jackosn Hall."

Gibbs nodded. "Where was the portrait originally hanging?"

"This way," Mrs. Hall said and led them down a hall and up a flight of stairs. She led them into a large sitting room and showed they a faded spot on the wall.

"It was right here," she said, pointing at the blank spot.

Gibbs nodded. "And was the entry forced?"

"Through the window," Mrs. Hall explained. "The repairman hasn't been out to fix it yet, so it's in the same condition."

"McGee, check it out," Gibbs ordered and began to exaimn the empty spot, looking for fingerprints, dropped hairs, items, etc.

McGee went over and looked out the window. Outside, in a tree evenw ith the house, was Shadow. She was just sitting in the tree, watching. She made a rude hand gesture to McGee and cakcled. McGee jumped and fell back.

"She's right there!" he shouted.

Gibbs ran over and climbed out the window, already watching where she was running off to. He followed after her, jumping fromt he tree and following after her. She glanced back, a carefree smile on her thin face. It was as if she enjoyed being chased by the NCIS agent.

"Catch me if you can, old man!" she laughed and ran through a back yard. She hurtled over a fence that took Gibbs a little longer to climb over. He really was getting old.

Shadow perched herself on the top of a fence and waited for Gibbs to catch up.

"Do you need a break, old man?" she asked, still laughing.

Gibbs jumped up onto the fence ten feet away from her. His balance wasn't quite as good as hers, and he wobbled a bit when he tried to move closer.

"I should know your name, shouldn't I?" asked Shadow, standing on foot and stretching out her other leg. "You do know mine, so wouldn't it be fair if I knew yours?"

Gibbs stared at her for a minute, still trying to keep his balance without falling over.

"It's only fair," she sang in a clear voice.

"You don't act like Skull hurts you," Gibbs said, finally perching himself correctly.

Shadow dropped the smile and glared at him. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"And how would you know if he really does?" she asked. She lunged forward and spun around Gibbs, taking his walet. She stopped another twenty feet away and started looking through it. She pulled out a few bills. "Oh, twenty five bucks? I'll take that."

She shoved the money in her back pocket and then pulled out his driver's license. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Well, it was pleasure doing business with you, Special Agent Gibbs."

She pocketed his walet and I.D. and started to jump away. But the next thing Shadow knew, Gibbs had her pinned to the ground.

"You wouldn't hurt me, would you?" she asked in a mockingly sweet voice. "That's be wrong, after all, and I'm sure the NCIS agent wouldn't break the laws." She stared at him for a second. "Or would you?"

She wriggled out of his grasp and stood up, putting her hands in the air in surrender.

"You've got me Special Agent Gibbs," she said. Gibbs walked slowly towards her, pulling out handcuffs.

"Not."

She swung her left leg in the air, connecting sharply with his jaw. Gibbs stumbled back, clutching at his jaw.

"Get back here!" Gibbs shouted as she started running, blood spraying from his mouth.

"Rather not!" Shadow laughed, dancing away from him. She disappeared a few blocks later, and Gibbs noticed she had dropped his walet and a slip of paper. He picked this up, and read over it:

3813 6792 0050 7638 - Important numbers. Do not lose.

Gibbs put the paper in a plastic bag and scribbled down the important information. He put this in a secure pocket and walked back to the house.

"Boss!" McGee shouted once he arrived. "What happened?"

"Shadow's a fighter," he said, taking some ice from Mrs. Hall. "We've got a new clue."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I didn't expect this to be so popular so quickly. Aw well! This, I am FINE with. So, back to writing.  
-

"Gibbs!" Abby shouted, running up to him and throwing her arms around him. "Oh my, gosh, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Abby," he said. he handed her the piece of paper. "Figure out what this is for.

"What? No encoargemnt?" Abby asked as she took the paper and spun around to her computer.

Gibbs sat a large Caf-Pow! on her desk. He kissed her cheek and walked off.

He went back up to his desk and put his coffee down

"Gee, Boss," Tony said. "That teenager really got the better of you, didn't she?"

Gibbs went over and slapped him behind the head, the infamous Gibbs-slap.

Shadow finally got back to the old apartment building that the gang used as a hideout.

"I'm back," she called quietly.

"Get in here!" she heard Skull shout.

Shadow quickly dashed to the living room. It was beaten up, wrecked, broken. The sofa had many holes that were caused from Skull's many fits of rage where he would stab at it with his pocket knife.

"So, how did your observation go?" Skull asked from where he leaned against the wall, smoking a cigarette. The painting Shadow had stolen hung above his head.

"I was seen," Shadow answered. "But-but I know who's looking into us! His name's Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I stole his walet, but I dropped it. But I have the money! He had twenty five dollars, and-and-"

Shadow had gotten backed into a corner by Skull who was growing angrier and angrier with her.

"You're so stupid!" he shouted, smacking her across the cheek. "How could you get seen?"

"I did it on purpose, so I could find out who they were," she explained, sinking to the ground. "I-I didn't get caught, though!"

Skull kicked out at her as hard as she could. She screamed as his foot connected with her ribs.

"I bet you even lost their alarm code, too!" he shouted in rage, pounding her small body.

"No I didn't!" she sobbed.

"Then prove it, you freaking baby!" he screamed. Shadow stood up and swayed slightly. Skull caught her, holding her elbows tightly. Shadow started searching her pockets, her walet, everywhere.

"I did lose it," she mumbled. She looked at Shadow in time to see his fist coming at her face. She flew back and hit the wall, sliding down into a heap on the ground.

"You can't do anything right!" he shouted, shoving his cigarette into the palm of her hand to snuff it out.

Shadow screamed as her flesh burned under the butt of it. Once it was out, he took it away and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind himself.

"He's such an ass," Shadow thought as she pulled herself up. She stumbled along to her room. Once there, she cleaned up the burnt flesh and made sure nothing was broken or too horribly bloodied. She checked her ribs and winced at the feel, but she could tell the weren't broken.

There was a knock on the door as Shadow pulled out the money she stole and shoved it in a jar.

"What?" she snapped.

"It's just me," one of the other girls said, poking her head in.

"Oh, Raven," Shadow whispered.

"Did he hurt you again?" Raven asked, walking up and running a hand over Shadow's bruised cheek. Shadow smirked at the girl a year younger than herself. She ruffled the girls dark purple hair. Raven glared up at her with her pale blue eyes.

"Isn't that obvious?" Shadow said, flopping down on her bed. She winced slightly, but kept smirking at Raven. "According to him, I failed at what I supposed to do. But whatever. I don't give a crap about it."

"Then why are you still in Skulls and Miscreants?" Raven asked, sitting at the foot of Shadow's bed.

"I'm the only one who know's what his next big plan is, and he said if I ran at all, even if I didn't tell, he'd kill me," Shadow said, sitting up. "I wanted to leave when he first started, but that bastard has always threatened to kill me, and now, he has a reason."

"He's threatened to kill you?" Raven whispered, staring at her best friend.

"I said he was a bastard," Shadow said.

Her door burst open to show Skull. He was void of emotion and staring down at the two.

"Meeting. Now," he hissed and left.

"You heard him," Shadow sighed.

They got up, and Raven followed Shadow into the living room. Six other people were sitting around the room: three guys and three girls.

"So what's up?" a girl they called Dusk asked. She had long blond hair and dark brown eyes. She was the one that did a lot of the pickpocketing around the D.C. metreopolitan area.

"Well, as we all know, my next target is the Hall family," Skull said. He was pacing in front of them, flipping the blade of his pocket knife in and out. "I have threatened the wife with a letter of intense detail. Well, Felony wrote it because we all know I'm not the best at writing. And then I had our resident aritists, twins Dragona and Drachen, abuse the car. Shadow stole the painting, and Raven and Vlad took care of the look-out positions. And then we had Necro on gaurd with that pistol he stole from his old man.

"And now, Shadow knows the next part of the plan. Shadow, care to explain?"

Shadow mumbled something incoharent.

"Speak up!" Skull shouted and slapped her hard. Shadow's face screwed up in pain, but then she relaxed. The others weren't watching as he did this. If they spoke out against it, they themselves got hurt, and they didn't want this.

"Next we kill the Rear Admiral," Shadow muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. 


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm not helping you!" Shadow screamed as Skull tried to drag her along to the house. "I'm not helping you kill him!"

"You're such a pain in the ass!" Skull shouted, locking his hand tightly around her wrist and pulling her towards the truck he had hot wired. "Come on, stupid bitch."

"I'm not stupid!" Shadow shouted back. "Unlike you, I'm actually able to read and write!"

Skull slammed her against the side of the truck, making her head connect with the glass. Her head smashed through the window, and her blood washed down the back of her neck.

"Do not bring that up," he spat in her face. He threw her back towards the house and got into the truck, driving away.

Felony ran outside and picked Shadow up. Her short red hair blew in the small breeze, and her dark brown eye were glaring in the direction Skull had gone.

"This isn't something any of us can fix up," she said, dragging her towards the back. "This time, you have to go to the hospital."

They got around back where Necro was standing around with Vlad. Both were smoking cigarettes and laughing at something the other had said. Both also had large arms, covered in muscles. Vlad was Dusk's little brother. He had brown hair with blonde streaks. His hair fell into his face, and he had dark brown eyes. Like Raven, he stood around, watching the place. Necro was their fighter. He had a shvaed head, and he was dark. His eyes were gray, like Shadow's. When he wasn't fighting, he was hiding things.

"Necro, get a car or SOMETHING," Felony said, shifting Shadow in her arms. "Skull went a bit far this time."

"What happened?" Vlad asked, taking Shadow from Felony. Necro ran off to go find something they could drive her there in.

"Gibbs," Shadow muttered, trying to force herself to stay awake.

"Who?" Felony asked, squeezing Shadow's bony hand.

"Gibbs," she said again.

"Who the hell is Gibbs!" shouted Vlad.

"Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs," Raven said, dashing over to her best friend. "Shadow ran into him. He's the guy who's after us. He's the one Shadow had attacked."

"Call Gibbs," Shadow muttered, trying to keep her eyes open. Her voice was starting to trail away.

Necro pulled up in a white Chevrolet at that moment. Vlad got into the back with her, and Felony and Raven watched anxiously as they pulled away.

Necro sped the entire way to the hospital. He ignored many red lights, and many stop signs, and somehow, they never got into a crash. Necro pulled up to the hospital, and Vlad dashed inside, running into the emergency room.

"Yeah, she's about to die from blood loss, I think. I've never been good in science," he said.

A doctor came over, and she was quickly taken into surgery. Meanwhile, Vlad was talking to a nurse, and Necro joined him.

"Do you know a guy named Lery Jethro Gibbs?" Vlad asked. "We need to find him."

"He's an agent of some sort," Necro added.

"Agent?" the nurse answered. "Well, is he in the FBI, CIA or is he in NCIS?"

"I dunno," Necro answered.

"What does NCIS stand for?" Vlad asked.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," she said.

"I think that'd be it," Vlad said, looking at Necro. He nodded. "Yeah, them. Could you see if he could get down here?"

"Is he her father or relative?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah, her uncle," Necro lied quickly. "Only living relative."

"Alright," the nurse said and dialed a number.

Necro and Vlad took a seat in the waiting room.

"Think she'll be okay?" Necro asked.

"Hopefully," Vlad said, running his hands through his hair. "But I bet we'll have a lot of questions to answer once they see the rest of her body."

"That's for sure," Necro said, laughing slightly. "I always wondered when something along these lines would happen."

"Same," Vlad agreed.

"He'll be here quickly!" the nurse called over.

"'Kay!" Necro called back.

They waited fifteen minutes or so, and they saw a man with gray hair walk in.

"Think that's him?" Necro asked as he appraoched the desk.

"Dunno," Vlad answered, crossing his buff arms over his chest.

The nurse pointed towards the teenagers, and the man walked over.

"Specail Agent Gibbs," he said, flashing his I.D. "I was told I was needed here."

"Shadow wanted you to come here," Vlad shurgged. "Dunno anything else."

"Well, why is she in a hopsital?" Gibbs asked. "Or do you not know that either?"

"That we do know," Necro said. "Skull got pissed again and shoved her head through a window. She's in surgery at the moment."

"He did WHAT?" Gibbs said.

"He got pissed and shoved her head through a window," Necro repeated. "Gees, old man, clean your ears out or something."

"Do you know why he did it?" Gibbs asked.

"Dunno," Vlad said, shaking his head. "Skull gets pissed over nothing, and of course, he takes all of it out on Shadow. I wouldn't be suprised if he tried to kill her. And it sucks, too, 'cause Shadow's the better of the two. Well, he's beat all of us. Raven more often than the others, since she yells at him for abusing her."

"Raven?" Gibbs said. "How many are there of you guys?"

Before they could say too much, a doctor came out.

"Shadow's suregry was quick and simple," he said. "She's awake right now, and you can talk to her. We want you to answer a few questions, though."

They got up and followed him into a hopsital room where Shadow was hooked up to an IV. She was looking out of a window, and they could see the spots where the glass was pulled out. Her left wrist had a large bruise around it. When she heard the door click, she turned to them, and they saw all the makeup had been taken off. Every bruise - every cut - was visable on her thin face.

"Gibbs!" she exclaimed. "Necro, get everyone else. We have things to discuss."

"Alright," Necro said and left.

"Gibbs, he's crazy!" she said, here heart rate increasing. This, they could hear because of the machine. Vlad sat at her side and held her hand. "He's insane!"

"What's he doing now?" Gibbs asked, pulling out a piece of paper and a pin.

"He's going to kill someone!" she shouted.

"Who?" Gibbs asked. "Tell me who!"

"I-I...he's the-"

Gibbs' phone rang at that moment. He held a finger up and flipped open his phone.

"What?" he answered.

"Rear Admiral Hall and his wife are dead," Tony said on the other end.

"They're dead aren't they?" Shadow whispered, a few tears streaking down her face. "Dammit, Skull!"

Gibbs shut his phone and looked at her.

"You knew about this?" he asked.

"He told be about it before we even started to torment them," Shadow said. Vlad gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I told him that would be suicide and I would go tell someone, but he threatened to kill me. I don't want to die, Gibbs..."

"We all knew," Vlad answered. "But we were too scared to do anything about it."

"Like I said, he's insane," Shadow repeated.

Necro came into the room followed by Raven - who rushed to her best friend's side - Dragona and Drachen, Dusk, and Felony.

"Alright, Gibbs, step out for a minute," Shadow commanded. "As for the rest of you...We have things we need to talk about."

Gibbs stepped out for a minute, and when Dusk opened the door, he stepped right back in. 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I planned on having this up yesterday, but due to circumstances outside of my control, it wasn't.**

"Okay, what?" Gibbs said, leaning against the door.

"We've deiced that Shadow's our new leader, and that we would like to help you catch Skull," Raven said, playing with a strand of her long dark blue hair.

Shadow nodded. "The guy's a bastard, anyway. Why should we continue to help him?"

Gibbs looked around at the teenagers that were standing or sitting around the room. Raven was sitting next to Shadow, holding her hand, while Vlad had left. Dusk, Felony, Dragona, Drachen, and Necro were leaning against the walls. Most smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. But of course, Gibbs didn't know their names except for Shadow. And even then, he didn't know their real names.

"So you're going to go clean? So easily?" he asked.

"Never said that," Drachen said, snickering. "We just said we'd help you catch a murderer."

"We may never go pure," Shadow said. "But we won't do anything like he did. That's just...Murder isn't something many of us can even think of doing to anyone. We may not be the best kids out there, but we're not stupid enough to kill someone."

"So, pettier crimes?" Gibbs assumed.

"Pretty much, yeah," Felony shrugged. "But, we've done grand theft auto a time or two. That's how we got here. None of us can afford a car or even gas. All the money we had, Skull probably took."

"Alright, we're going to catch Skull," Gibbs said. "I'm going to have to take you guys to my work place, so I can have everyone questioned appropriately. But not till Shadow can leave."

"With or without their permission?" Shadow said, laughing. Her hollow face brightened, and Gibbs was reminded of what his daughter COULD have looked like. He stared at her in shock for a second before shaking himself out of it.

"With," Gibbs said. Back to business, he reminded himself. "I'm going to talk to the doctor, and I'll see when you can be released."

He left, and Necro glared at Shadow.

"What?" she said. "You were out-voted, Necro. I don't care what you say against me right now, but I know at least three people are going to fight against you if you try anything. I don't give a crap if you say this isn't what we should be doing. I don't care if you completely disagree with me, Nec. And that's because...I know I'm right this time. We're doing what I say, and what I say ONLY."

Raven, Vlad and Dusk moved closer to Shadow during what she was saying. Shadow sat up straighter, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what will be, Necro?" she asked. "Are you going to work with or against the pride? A lone wolf won't prosper, but as a pack, we can take down the stag."

"Don't use those freakin' metaphors," Necro growled.

"What? Flunking out make you not the smartest? Oh, wait..." Shadow grinned slyly at him. "Going to try something, Necro?"

"No," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Good," Shadow smirked. "Because one, I'm now alpha. That means what I say, goes. No exceptions. It means that you will listen to me, or you get through out of the pack, and you get to fend for yourself. Get your own stag, if you get the metaphor. And two, just because I'm not Skull, I'm not abusive, doesn't mean I wouldn't tell Gibbs some of your "other" business."

"You wouldn't dare," he whispered, fear etched on his tan features.

"Oh, I would," she said, still smirking. "I would."

"Would what?" Gibbs said, coming back in.

"I would try to cooperate with everyone," Shadow said, lying quickly. She stopped smirking. "So when do I get out of this hellhole?"

"Soon," Gibbs said. "I told the doctor your ex-boyfriend was abusive, and he went with it. Sound good?"

"I don't care," she said, snorting. "Anyway, when exactly am I out of here?"

"Tomorrow," Gibbs explained. "They wanted to keep you here over night to make sure every thing's good."

"Did they ask if you really were her uncle?" Vlad asked, holding Shadow's hand again.

"Yes," Gibbs said. "I told them I was not, but that I am an NCIS agent and you're needed for a case, so all worked out."

"Easy enough," Shadow shrugged.

"Now, you seven," Gibbs said. "I'll need to talk to you individually, but later. I'm starting with Shadow."

They all nodded, and said their good-byes to Shadow, except for Raven, who would not leave. Gibbs gave Shadow his number and made sure Raven knew it, just in case.

Shadow smiled at him as he left. Gibbs walked out of the hospital and down to his car. He started it up, and drove to get coffee. He got his coffee and sat in his car for a few minutes. 3:16...He still had time he could be working. He drove back to the Navy Yard, and got out at the NCIS building. He took the elevator up, and walked in.

"Boss!" Tony said instantly. "We know it was the Skull kid, but we have no idea where he went."

"I get the feeling Shadow and her new gang might," Gibbs replied, sitting down at his desk. "Shadow's their new leader, and they seem to be a bit more willing about working for her."

"You think Shadow knows where he went?" Tony said.

"Tony, I think she could have kept track of her boyfriend," Ziva said.

"They weren't dating," Gibbs muttered.

"They weren't?" they asked together.

"No. Skull was simply abusive. He didn't care what Shadow thought of anything. I wouldn't really surprised if she was raped."

"You think that?" McGee asked, coming up from Abby's lab. "She said the code was their security code to their house. That's how Skull and Shadow were able to get in."

"It just wouldn't surprise me if that had happened," Gibbs sighed sadly, shaking his head. "But tomorrow, we're going to be interviewing them, getting what we can out of them. I'm starting with Shadow. Assignment tomorrows. As for now, work on whatever it is you are currently working on."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This was a bit shorter than what I wanted, but it's a look into the past of some of the members of Skulls and Miscreants. The OLD Skulls and Miscreants, that is.**

Gibbs arrived at the hospital the next day. He walked down to Shadow's room and knocked on the door.

"What?" came Shadow's sharp reply.

"It's Gibbs," he said.

"Oh," Shadow said and opened the door. Gibbs took in her groomed appearance. Her hair was pulled back in a slick pony tail, and she had gotten into something clean. One of the other teenagers must have brought it over. She bent down and picked up a backpack. "Okay, let's go."

"You're ready?" Gibbs asked, catching up with her. She had started walking ahead.

"Oh, yes," Shadow said. "I talked to the nurse. You just have to say you're bringing me with you, and you can question me or whatever."

Gibbs nodded and approached the desk and talked to the nurse for a second. Shadow shifted from foot to foot, nervously looking around. They left and got into Gibbs' car. He started off towards the Navy Yard.

"Any idea where he could have gone?" he asked.

"No," Shadow replied, bouncing her leg, looking out the window.

"No parents?" he asked.

"Not Skull," she answered. "No family at all. We don't have family, 'cept the twins. They've got each other."

"Do you know everyone's real names?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Now we're getting somewhere. When we get back, you're going to talk with Tony to get down everything."

"Tony...?

"One of the agents."

Gibbs showed his idea, explained why Shadow was there, and went on to the NCIS building. They got out, and Gibbs led her in. They went into the elevator, and when the doors opened, Gibbs walked straight over to his desk. Shadow followed after, looking around. On one wall, there were photos of wanted people, some crossed out with red, diagonal lines. Many different people sat around desks, and there was a set of stairs going up to the next floor. She was now standing awkwardly by Gibbs's desk, looking at the other people around her.

One was chubby and had the general look of a geek. Another was a tan woman who spoke with an accent and didn't quite have her English completely right. The last was a man who appeared to have a snobbish air about himself.

"Shadow, meet McGee, Officer David, and Tony Dinozzo," Gibbs said, pointing them out.

"Ziva," David said, sticking her hand out. Shadow shook it, giving a half-smile for a second.

"Tim," McGee said.

"And I guess now would be a good time to tell you me real name is Megan Zimmerman, but you will still call me Shadow. I like the name, after all," she said, shrugging.

"So, you've decided to go good?" Tony asked, popping a piece of gum in his mouth.

"More or less," Shadow said, smirking. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Tony opened his mouth to say more, but Gibbs interrupted.

"Tony, you're getting everything you can out of her, names, addresses, parents," Gibbs said. "Now."

"Alrightie then, Boss," Tony said. He started going through the drawers of his desk, looking for something. "Pull up a chair, Shadow."

Shadow grabbed a rolling chair from one of the unoccupied desks and wheeled it over. She sat on it, crossing her arms over the back and leaning her head down.

"Where shall we start?" she asked.

"Everyone's names," Tony said, flipping to a clean page in the note book he had just pulled out. He clicked the pen, and looked at Shadow. "Let's start with everything you know about Skull."

"His name is Brandon Jade. You know what he looks like, and he can't read or write," Shadow explained, running the hair in her pony tail through her hand. "From what I know, he grew up in a damaged family where his mother left when he was three, just old enough to remember, and his father worked ten different jobs during the week. He was the youngest of four kids, all boys, I think. There could have been a fifth child that the mother took with her, I dunno. His brothers weren't home much either, and he somehow got a hold of weed when he was thirteen and started growing it. That's how he started making money. But when he was fifteen, he just left, taking his Mary Jane plants with him.

"I met him about a year or so after that, when my mom was forcing me to try to find some weed for her. I was on the bad side of town, like always, and ran into him. Literally. He shouted at me and then realized I was a customer. That I had money. I got the marijuana from him free for the first three times. Then he made me start paying. And one day, I ran out of money. My mom ran out of money. And this was within a month or two of when I met him. My mom went crazy, and that was the first time I got hurt by someone else. I turned back to Skull for help, but at the time he was still Brandon Jade.

"He took me back to the place that is currently - _was_ - our hideout. He gave me a room and taught me about caring for the weed. But then, that winter, all the crops died, and we had to find a new source of work. But, that's also when Skull started to abuse me. The first few times he apologized and laid off for a while. But then...not so much. Anyway, we started wtih having me fake being a poor girl, begging for money. Then, if someone wealthy would come by, Skull would mug them. One time, I had to help him 'cause the guy had a cane, and he was swinging it around. That's when we learned I was a fighter.

"Christmas Eve came around, and we were on the streets again, looking for food, handouts, money, whatever we could find. Neither of us could afford a present for the other. But we both doubted the other would give us something. We were walking along the beltway, when we saw a car pull over and a girl get kicked out. We looked at each other and went. That's how we met Raven. Becca Day, as she was called then. She's naturally got black hair. Raven shortly became my best friend.

"We started going into deeper jobs then. Now that there were three of us. Raven would be on guard, ready to tell us if anyone was there. We started robbing places, selling the goods off. And then came the day when we met the twins. Olive and Oliver black, soon to become Dragona and Drachen, the artists. We called them 'dragon' because they each had a dragon tattoo around their wrists. Never said much about where it came from other than they got them a year or two ago." Shadow paused to think. She shrugged and went on.

"Since we had them, we decided we needed a name, and since Skull was our leader..." Shadow shrugged again. "Well, we became Skulls and Miscreants. Dragona and Drachen - by the way, that's German - created our symbol. We started getting into fights with other gangs, and it was fun to say the least. I know, you're probably wondering how that could be fun. But to us, teenagers with NOTHING anymore, it was. And in one of those fights, I got set up with the runt of them. And he's no runt. But he was to the rest of them.

"Necro joined us after that fight. They said that if a girl could beat him, he couldn't stay. So we took him in. That's how he got a name that meant dead or death, depending on how you look at it. Because he was dead to them. They never wanted to see his face in their "territory" again. Oh, and his name is Issac White.

"Shortly after our first robbery at a connivance store, we met Dusk and Vlad. Or Macy and Jason Stone as they were then. Vlad took an instant liking to me, and as you saw, Gibbs, he held my hand a lot. He's really affectionate...Like a puppy almost. He helped Raven watch the house, the store, whatever. And his sister Dusk pick-pocketed people. Once we got them, we started getting on base. Dusk and Vlad are kids of a...oh, what was she? I think she was in the army, but I can't remember what her rank was. Anyway, we found the Rear Admiral's house one day, and their lives haven't been the same.

"You know everything about what we've been doing, but you don't know the last member of the group. Her name's Felony, and she's not really a criminal. We found it to be an oxymoron, and deemed her that. She kept track of what money we had, what it's being used on, who got their cut out of it, and she wrote down anything any of us wanted. She could easily become a writer if she had finished high school. None of us did."

By the time she had finished, the entire team was paying attention. Tony looked up from his notes. He had written down their names and what he could catch, but he didn't have much.

"Do you know any of their parents?" he asked.

"Mine," Shadow said. "That's it. I have no names, nothing, but I know that we're all unwanted at our old homes. Raven got kicked out, as I said."

"Next step," Gibbs said, walking over and placing a hand on Shadow's shoulder, "is finding Skull. But it's a long road that we've gotta walk."

"And that's everything you know about them?" Tony asked.

"Everything," Shadow said, nodding. But she was keeping one secret to herself: Felony knew where Skull's hideout was.


	6. Chapter 6

"Wait," Tony said, looking down at everything he had written. "I don't have everyone's ages."

He frowned slightly, and looked up at Shadow.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "Uh, Skull and I are roughly the same age. He's still sixteen, but his birthday's coming up in a month or two. Mine's another five away. Uh, Raven's a year and two months younger than me. The twins are also fifteen, but that was a recent development. Felony is also sixteen, but she turned that a month or so ago. Necro and Dusk are the oldest, seventeen, but I think Necro's older. I dunno. Um, Vlad's a few months younger than me."

Tony wrote all this down, and then glanced over at Gibbs.

"Alright," Gibbs said. "Assignment. McGee -"

"Track down the parents, yes, sir," McGee said and quickly started typing.

"Tony, get down to their base and bring all of them over."

"ALL of them?" Tony asked, staring at him.

"Yes, all of them," Gibbs said. "They're of no use without every single one here."

"Necro's a fighter," Shadow piped up. "Good luck getting him to come along with JUST yourself."

"Ziva, would you like to come?"

Zive nodded, and Gibbs approved.

"Have fun!" Shadow called as they stepped into the elevator.

"Now, you're going to talk to Abby to try and figure out where Skull could be," Gibbs said. He got up and started walking. "Come on!"

Shadow jumped up and ran after him. They went downstairs and entered an office with blasting rock music. Shadow smirked and tapped her foot against the floor.

"Abby!" Gibbs called over the music.

Abby was much younger than Gibbs, wearing her black hair in two pigtails with straight bangs. Her eyes were rimmed in black, her mouth covered in black. She wore large combat boots, making her seem even taller. Over her black and red skirt and white button down shirt, she wore a lab coat. It amused Shadow highly to picture a Goth as a scientist.

Abby picked up a remote and turned off the music.

"Aw, I liked that song," Shadow said in fake disappointment.

Abby ran up and pulled Shadow into a tight hug.

"You poor girl!" she said, squeezing her.

"Uh," Shadow said. "This is weird."

Abby let go, and said, "I can't believe what he did!"

"I'm okay," Shadow said. "Besides the fact that I hurt just about every time I move, and that I'm scarred from where he would put out his cigarette. But you know, other than that, I'm fine."

Abby wrapped her in another bone crushing hug.

"This hurts my ribs," Shadow said.

"Sorry!" Abby said, letting go again.

"Abby, work with her to try to figure out where Skull could be," Gibbs said. He left the room, and Abby glared after him.

"Normally he brings me Caf-Pow!" she said, walking into her office. Shadow followed after quickly. "Sit!"

Shadow pulled up a chair and sat before Abby.

"Okay, so where do we start?" she asked.

"Tell me about Skull," Abby said.

"He's a jackass," Shadow said instantly. "That count for anything?"

"Not really," Abby shrugged. "What I meant was, tell me about places you know he went to as a child that could hold significant details."

"Couldn't you have said that in the first place?" Shadow asked.

Abby laughed.

"Where'd he grow up?" she asked.

"Um, I'm pretty sure it was Anacostia," Shadow answered. "At least part of them time. But I know that's where he sold a lot of Mary Jane."

"Would he ever go back to his family, the place he lived?"

"Hell, no. He hated his family, his brothers, his dad. And he has no Mary Jane plants left, so it'd be pointless of him to go back to sell that. I don't think he'd ever go back to Anacostia. He hated it there, anyway."

"Well, what about his mother?"

"Oh, she left when he was little. I don't know anything about her, really."

"Other family, maybe?"

"Nah, grandparents are in nursing homes, aunts and uncles hate him, no one likes him - at all. And he has no friends. None of us would help him, as far as I know."

"Any places he ever talked about?"

"He always mentioned these woods he liked to be in. But I really don't know WHERE. Around here, Virginia, and Maryland, there's quite a few places that could be."

"Good point. Was there anything special about what he said?"

Back upstairs, Tony and Zica had arrived back with the rest of Shadow's new gang. Necro had been the one who wanted to come least.

"Where's Shadow?" Raven demanded, clenching her fists., popping the joints in her thumbs. "I want to see her right now!"

"She's fine," Gibbs said. "She's downstairs with Ab-"

Raven ran and soon disappeared.

"We'll get her later," Gibbs said. "Necro and Dusk, come on. The rest, you get to stay here."

Gibbs started walking to the interrogation rooms. Dusk followed after Gibbs. She was calm, and shoved her hands in her jacket pocket. Necro got a little shove from Ziva for not immediately following. He glared at her. When they had arrived, he had refused to go, and only after fighting with Ziva for a few minutes and getting a black eye, did he cooperate. But he was most definitely not pleased.

Ziva followed as well, leaving Tony and McGee - who was still typing furiously, researching for their parents - to watch the twins, Vlad and Felony.

Gibbs pointed into one room, and Ziva and Necro entered. Gibbs went into the other with Dusk. He sat down in front of the mirror-window, and she leaned against the wall. Gibbs registered the smell of cigarette smoke on her.

"Do you smoke?" he asked.

Dusk shook her head. "No, that's Skull, Vlad and Necro. Sometimes I'll catch Felony holding one, but I've never seen her smoke. But when you're around them a lot, you start smelling like it. I hate it."

Gibbs nodded. "Sit."

"No, I'm good," she said, shaking her head again. She raised her leg, resting her foot on the wall. "Hope you don't mind."

"What do you know about Skull?" Gibbs asked.

"He's a bastard," Dusk replied. "Don't know his first name, last name, anything much about him. Just that he's a jerk, especially to Shadow. We've all been hurt on occasion, but only because we say something."

"Has he ever talked about...going away somewhere?" he questioned.

"Not to me," she said, scratching a spot on her arm. "He could have to one fo the others, but as far as I know, he's never said something about it. But he and Felony were close. You might want to talk to her."

"Alright," Gibbs said, making note of this. "Now, tell me about yourself."

"What?" Dusk said, slightly startled. "Um, Vlad and I grew up in a military family. My mom was in the navy, a chief petty officer. My dad didn't do much but write. He's never published a single book, but he tries, far as I know. We came her back in '02. Mom got put on a ship somewhere and went out. And didn't come back. We're still not sure, but we know she's not dead. Dad got pull benefits, that he wasted on a new computer. Vlad and I started to drift away from him, until he just left too. Yeah, it's screwed up.

"So we wandered around until we found Skull, Shadow and everyone else," Dusk said. She pulled the chair out and sat down in front of Gibbs. "We quickly learned Skull was an ass, but there was no going back."

"What do you mean by no going back?" Gibbs asked.

"Once you're in, you're in," she said. She looked over to a spot on the wall. "Skull wasn't about to let us leave."

Gibbs nodded.

"Tell me about your relationships with everyone else."

"I hate Skull. I hate him. Shadow's...Shadow's actually pretty fun. Vlad's my little brother, and I share that family love with him, but he still gets on my nerves. Raven's fiesty. She's okay, I guess. Felony's...eh. I don't really like her much. The twins are cool if you ever get to talk to them. They're really quite. And Necro...He's kind of an ass as well, but it's just 'cause of how he's grown up."

Gibbs copied this as well, and then held up a picture of the dead bodies of the Halls. Dusk visablly flinched, and looked away.

"I didn't want to," she said. "No one wanted to. Skull did that on his own. We didn't even go with him."

"I see," Gibbs said. "So absolutely no one went with him?"

"No one," Dusk assured. "Necro and Vlad were smoking in the back. Felony, Raven and I were sitting inside, playing a card game, and the twins were on the roof doing soemthing artistic."

"Right," Gibbs said. "That's why all of you were there when I came to the hospital."

"Exactly," she said. "Can I go now?"

"Back upstairs and stay where everyone else is," he said. "But I'll come with you."

They started up, but stopped when they heard the door creak to the other room. Gibbs pulled Dusk inside and looked into the room. Ziva had Necro shoved up against the door, both glaring at each other.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The kid's not cooperating," the man sitting at the desk said.

"That's Necro for you," Dusk muttered.

"Tell me what you know about Skull!" Ziva shouted.

"I told you! I'm not helping this damn investigation!" Necro shouted.

"You will help if you don't want to go to jail!" Ziva screamed at him.

Gibbs shook his head.

"Come one, Dusk," he said. "Or do you prefer Macy?"

"I don't really care," she replied. "But Dusk is what I'm used to."

Gibbs nodded, and they went up.

He brought down both of the twins, and questioned them. They didn't know anything either. They weren't really talked to much, and only took care of the things they painted.

Gibbs had to pull Raven away from Shadow, and didn't learn anything from her either. Just that Skull liked to be in the woods, or abandoned or unfinished buildings. This was the biggest lead they had.

Ziva finally finished with Necro while Gibbs was talking to Raven. She went up and brought Vlad down.

"Before you ask, yes, I do like Shadow," he said, plopping down in the chair.

"I hadn't planned on asking," Ziva said, sitting across from him.

Vlad shrugged.

"What about how you feel towards the others?" she asked.

"I hate Skull. Necro's...decent to me. We smoke in the back together. Felony's okay. Raven's fun. The twins are pretty cool if they will talk to you. Dusk's my sister - there's that family love there. Shadow...I already told you about her." Vlad blushed and scratched the back of his head, looking down.

"Has Skull ever told you anything about places he'd go to get away?" she asked, making note.

"No," Vlad replied. "He only talked to me about plans and that was with everyone else. I mean, I guess Felony or Shadow would know something, since he's always pissed at Shadow, and Felony's like his secretary or whatever. But I doubt Shadow knows anything."

Ziva nodded.

Back with Gibbs, Felony was sobbing hysterically.

"I didn't want to know!" she screamed. "He just told me and said if I told anyone he would kill me!"

"Where is he?" Gibbs asked firmly and loudly.

"Appalachian Trail," she stuttered, wiping furiously at the tears. This blew away what they had learned earlier.

"Why?" Gibbs shouted.

"That's where he always wanted to go," she sobbed. "He-he just never got the chance, so he went now."

Gibbs stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He entered the room Ziva and Vlad were in to find them laughing. He stared at them for a second.

"Road trip," he said. "Come on."


	7. Chapter 7

What was left of Skulls and Miscreants had each been given a backpack,a nd filled it with a two changes of clothes, and things they could need. They had each been fitted with a bullet-proof vest with NCIS written across the chest. This was only in case Skull had a gun. They both were split into groups - Raven demanded to be with Shadow - and were assigned an agent to stay with.

Shadow, Raven and Gibbs were a team. The twins had been paired with Tony. Necro and Felony were put with Ziva, in case they acted out. And Vlad and Dusk were with McGee. Each were now in a car, speeding down to the entrance to the Appliachian Trail. Satellite thermal imaging was going to be used to find Skull. It was definite that he would be alone, hiding from people.

It took quite some time to reach the trail, but when they did, the NCIS agents acted quickly. Each grabbed a backpack with supplies that they would need, and carried that with their own, smaller backpack. They had their guns, badges, and extra ammunition.

"We're staying together for the most part," Gibbs said once they had all gathered everything. The Miscreants of Skulls and Miscreants stood with the agents of their group, wondering exactly how this was going to play out. "But we'll each have our own camps."

Everyone stayed a little ways away from the groups they weren't in. Shadow, Raven and Gibbs made good time going down the trail. The sun was soon setting, and they decided to make camp. Raven and Shadow worked together to set up the tent while Gibbs strayed closer to the woods to gather fire wood and kindling. When he had gathered sufficent material, he brough it back and started placing it.

"Anyone have something to light it with?" he asked.

"Nope," the girls responded.

"I can go find Vlad or Necro," Raven suggested. "They'll have a lighter."

"No, wait, I have some matches," Shadow said, digging through her bag. She tossed the box over to Gibbs. "I don't think it'd be best to wander off my yourself."

"If you say so," Raven shrugged, sitting on the log in front of the fire.

Gibbs lit some of the kindling and tossed it onto twigs and fallen branches.

"What are eating?" Raven asked.

Gibbs brought out a can of beans.

"This," he said.

They ate their dinner and the girls went into the tent. Gibbs stayed outside, planning to keep watch. He sat on the log, watching the glowing firre and listening to the sounds of everything outside.

McGee, Vlad and Dusk were sitting around their fire.

"Did you find out anything about any of the others' parents?" Dusk asked, placing her face in her hands.

"I found your mom," he said.

"Where is she?" Vlad asked, dropping his stub of a cigarette into the fire.

"She-she's uh, she's in Italy," he explained.

"Where? Why isn't she here?" Dusk asked, sitting up straighter.

"She's in Rome," he said. He paused and added, "Under six feet of earth."

"She's dead?" Dusk whispered. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Vlad pulled his sister into his chest, keeping his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry," McGee said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

Ziva, meanwhile, was trying to make sure Necro didn't sneak off. And that Felony wouldn't try to find Skull.

"Sit," she ordered to both of them.

Necro made a face and didn't sit. Felony sat down. She was already in enough trouble with them.

"I said sit," Ziva said again. "And when I tell you to do something, you do that something."

"Don't want to," Necro responded.

Ziva cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't wanna," he said again.

Ziva reached over and shoved her hand down on his shoulder. His knees buckled from the pressure, and he was sent into the log.

"Damn, what the hell was that for?" he asked.

"You did not listen," she answered.

Tony and the twins were doing the best. Well, to Tony they were. The twins kept glancing at each other with looks that clearly read "Why won't he shut up?"

"Did you know that it took three different actors to play Darth Vadar in the Star Wars movies?" he was saying. The twins shook their head. "Well, David Prowse was used for the body, James Earl Jones did the voice, and Sevastian Shaw for the face. Interesting, huh?"

Dragona nodded and looked at the tattoo on her wrist.

"Also, it wasn't originally Luke Skywalker, but Starkiller," Tony went on. "Oh, and they when Carrie Fisher's mother learned she was flying coach to England, she called Lucas. Fisher said, "Mother I want to fly coach, will you f-"

Tony was cut short as a scream filled the air.

"Shadow," Drachen said.

"What?" Tony said.

"Gibbs!" came Shadow's frantic voice. "Help!" 


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs and Raven took off after the sound of Shadow's cry. The others had already started off. They soon met up at a wide part of the trail.

"Gibbs!" Shadow screamed again. She sounded choked. "He's got a gun!"

Raven pulled Gibbs along desperately. She knew Skull was stupid enough to actually kill her. They kept running until her screams became louder.

"There!" Vlad shouted, pointing at a log cabin hidden in the trees. A single light was on in the window.

The teens stayed back while Gibbs and Ziva went first. Gibbs kicked the door open, their guns held out in front of themselves. He turned to the right and saw Skull pointing a handgun into Shadow's head. She was crying, trying to pull his arm off her throat.

"Hello, Agent Gibbs," Skull said. His hair was knotted and parts were hacked off. His eyes looked hollow and crazy.

"Shadow!" Raven screamed, shoving past Ziva and into the room. Tony joined them. McGee stayed back with the others. But Felony had gotten in.

"Let's make a trade Special Agent Gibbs," Skull said. His arm tightened around Shadow's throat causing her to cry out.

"What?" Gibbs asked, trying to find a spot to aim at that wouldn't harm Shadow.

"You'll get this bitch if you agree to my terms," he said. "No other circumstances will work. To get Shadow back, you have to fake a report saying I commited suicide in this building. Lie through your teeth. And make my death creative. And while you're doing that, I'll be leaving. Not sure where I'll go, but Shadow here wants to live. I'm sure she does. Don't you, bitch?"

He flexed his finger on the trigger, making it move just enough to scare Shadow. She gave a new sob and tried harder to pull his arm off.

"You expect me to do that?" Gibbs answered.

"Wait!" Raven said. In a flash, she had Felony on the ground, Tony's gun shoved against the back of her neck. "Don't you want Felony? Let's trade, Skull. Or better yet, BRANDON."

"Don't you dare call me by that," he hissed.

"You want Felony alive, right?" Raven asked pushing the gun harder into her body. Felony groaned.

"Raven, stop!" Tony ordered.

"Shut up," Raven said, shaking her head. "Come on, Brandon. Hand her over."

Skull looked like he was considering it. His eyebrows knitted together, his mouth hung open a bit. He licked his lips and glanced down at the struggling Shadow. He looked back up and smirked.

"I don't need her," he said.

"Bastard!" Felony shouted. "You said we'd go away together!"

"What?" Raven asked in surprise. "You have feelings for that jackass?"

"Do not call him that!" Felony screamed, struggling against Raven's grasp. Raven suddenly remembered something and her face lit up.

"She's not bullet-proof, you know," Raven said, standing up. She kicked Felony over and felt the vest. She smiled and aimed at her stomach.

"Don't!" Skull shouted. He actually looked scared. Worse than Shadow. "I-I'll kill Shadow if you do!"

"Bitch!"

"Traitor!"

"Rather be one than a bitch!"

Ziva, Tony and Gibbs watched, unsure of what they should be doing. The teenagers wanted ot do everything by themselves. That's how most are. Gibbs looked down at Raven and Felony and then up at Skull and Shadow.

"Please trade me, Gibbs," Shadow whimpered. "Lie, please."

"I can't," Gibbs said.

Shadow shut her eyes, locking her hands around Skull's arm. She sniffled.

A shot rang through the air. Then two screams. One was high pitched and the other lower.

"No!" Skull shouted. He threw Shadow aside, causing her to slam against the wall. He jumped down and shoved Raven aside, pulling Felony into his arms. She wasn't dead or injured, just hurt. The vest had stopped the bullet. Skull scraped at her shirt, pulling it off to find the vest.

"You lied, you little bitch!" he shouted at Raven. But Raven wasn't paying attention.

Gibbs and Raven rushed to Shadow's side while Tony got out handcuffs for Skull. Felony would also be arrested. Gibbs and Raven helped her up, and he pulled Shadow into his arms. She sobbed into his chest while he stroked her hair back. Raven squeezed her hand.

"It's okay," Gibbs said soothingly.

"He-he almost shot me," Shadow murmered against his chest.

Tony and Ziva took Felony and Skull out. Gibbs, Raven and Shadow followed after them. Vlad ran up to Shadow and picked her up. She had been stumbling along as it was.

"I'm so glad your okay," he said, wiping away some of the tears.

"What now, Boss?" McGee asked.

Gibbs laughed. "Take them away, take care of the others. Let's get going. Actually, you and the twins stay here and get all of the stuff packed up. Meet us back at headquaters when you're done."

Gibbs started off in the direction of the cars. Raven and Vlad, carrying Shadow who had her arms locked around his neck, followed after him.

"You're safe now," Vlad whispered.

It took hours, but they finally got back to the cars. Vlad and Shadow slid into the backseat of Gibbs's car, while he and Raven got into the front.

"It's okay now," Vlad said. "Sku- Brandon's never going to hurt you again. You'll be safe."

"How can I believe that?" she asked, looking at him. "I know him. He's such a bastard. He's going to find a way back to me."

"No he won't," said Gibbs. "We're gonan lock him up tight."

The next week, they had all testified against the murder. Felony and Skull ahd been "locked up tight." And they were all staying with Gibbs. None of the kids had homes to go back to.

"What do you think we'll do now?" Raven asked one day.

They were all gathered around his back yard.

"It doesn't matter now," answered Shadow. "But I know that we will do it together."

Vlad took her hand, and she took Raven's, who took Drachen's, who took Dragona's until everyone was holding someone's hand except for Necro.

"Come on," said Dusk. Necro took her hand and then Vlad's.

"Together," they all said.

What would you guys say if I made a sequel? I came up with a REALLY good idea for one. Tell me, please!

~Rayne 


End file.
